Elders’ employees joined 40,000 entrants in the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday, using the opportunity to raise over $26,000 for charity.
Elders Melbourne Marathon Team
Content warning: this article discusses themes of suicide and mental health.
The team joined together to raise funds for LifeChanger, in memory of Liam Hardwick, the son of Elders State Operations & Support Specialist Hannah Speers, who sadly took his own life earlier this year.
Elders state marketing business partner Claire McKie, who coordinated the team with colleagues Molly Voss and Georgia O’Shea, said planning the effort commenced months ago.
“We started discussions about 5 months ago, testing the waters to see how many people would like to be involved,” she said.
“Initially we were hoping to get about 10 participants, so to have 60 people take part was incredible.”
The team was made up of Elders staff and their families from across Victoria, NSW and SA and also included members from supporting businesses.
Claire explained that the effort would not have been possible without the support of team sponsors.
“The support from valued sponsors BASF, The Weekly Times, Virbac, EPG Seeds, Barenburg and White Line Designs allowed us all to focus on fundraising for LifeChanger, it was greatly appreciated,” she said.
The team’s fundraising efforts ranked Elders as the second highest fundraising team in the entire event, with Gippsland and central Victoria area manager Colin Lane leading the fundraising tally, raising $3,313 and participating in the 10km event with his son Xavier.
The team had participants in all five events throughout the day including four incredible athletes tackling the gruelling 42km Melbourne Marathon.
Lach Boyd, who was one of those athletes, explained that it was a great event, with a significant turnout.
“I haven’t run with that many people before – all of my training runs have been solo, so it was a very different feeling,” he said.
“The atmosphere on the street and amongst the runners was one of kindness and encouragement. I kept hearing people say to strangers ‘you’ve got this’. It was incredibly heart-warming.”
Hannah Speers, who was joined by family and friends from their hometown of Adelong in NSW, explained that it was a new experience for her, but one which she will look back on fondly.
“Everyone was so happy and supportive of each other and of other teams, it was just wonderful to see everyone be a part of something bigger, contributing to LifeChanger through all the generous donations and fundraising,” she said.
“It felt great to give back, and the Adelong team are already planning our next run!”
LifeChanger CEO Scott Watters was incredibly thankful for the $26,000 donation.
“To everyone that ran as part of the Elders team, thank you,” he said.
“Thanks for the effort and for supporting our preventative youth mental health programs that empower young people with the courage to thrive. The whole team should be feeling proud of what they achieved.”
If you are struggling, please remember you are not alone. Lifeline is just a call away. Phone them on 13 11 14.